30 July 2024 #004. Week 1 of the Paris Olympics
A fairly quiet weekend of 15s worldwide rugby
Good morning people and welcome to Tuesday’s rugby information. No crew of the week this week, I didn’t watch sufficient of the Males’s sevens to do this, and to be sincere I don’t know sufficient about it to attempt to do it justice. Karl did a little bit of protection on the lads’s sevens on Monday, I’ll solely add slightly to the dialogue, then a little bit of protection of the Aussie Girls’s video games, and a common spherical up of reports round Australia and the globe.
Then I’ll fortunately move the baton over to you guys to debate the information of the day, and no matter different random stuff comes up.
A peerless efficiency
It is a bit off-book for a rugby web page, however in case you love sport usually, and haven’t seen it, please take a look on the the efficiency of Frenchman Leon Marchand right here within the 400 particular person medley last within the pool. It needs to be one of many extra dominant particular person performances you’ll ever see. Shades of Tiger Woods lapping the sphere in his first Masters victory, or Kelly Slater in his prime. The introductions begin at 4:30 in, and the race begins at simply after 8 minutes. Desirous about your ideas, once more, it’s not rugby, however wow it’s spectacular.
The Olympics males’s sevens
The Aussie males put in a fantastic efficiency to get to the semi last, and as mentioned by Karl on Monday, it in all probability exceeds the usual of their season total. It was nice to observe, and a heroic efficiency within the bronze medal play off after the captain Malouf was despatched off. It was a good name, and credit score to the crew for getting caught in afterwards. Some attention-grabbing commentary by the coach about funding for the sevens program, I don’t understand how a lot funding they get in comparison with their opponents, and in comparison with the Girls’s crew. This may be value some dialogue right this moment.
Final week I requested the next query “One of many massive questions is whether or not Antoine Dupont can lead the French deep into the match on dwelling soil?” – It seems the reply is an emphatic sure, and whereas it’s a crew efficiency, he was distinctive within the second half. Let’s hope the photograph is prophetic for the Girls’s crew as effectively.
Olympic girls’s match
The Aussie girls’s crew received off to an absolute flyer towards South Africa with an early rating off the kick off, and so they simply went on with it from there. Madi Levi received 4 tries, and the ultimate outcome was 34-5 to Australia, with the one draw back being that the Aussie quantity 8 Caitlin Shave was injured in her debut match, and is out of the match. Hopefully it isn’t too severe, and so as to add insult to harm, she was yellow carded for a excessive sort out whereas attempting to defend on one leg.
The second recreation towards Nice Britain was one other dominant efficiency by the Aussie girls, one other hat trick to Madi Levi to guide the crew to a 36-5 victory. A real crew efficiency, and the squad is displaying loads of depth with a lot of frontline gamers out injured.
There was definitely loads of tries by the Aussies within the first two video games.
The ultimate pool recreation was towards Eire and it turned out to be a more in-depth contest than the earlier video games. A bit like the sport the 2 groups performed in Madrid, it was a tussle. Religion Nathan received the crew off to the very best begin, splitting the Irish defensive position, and working 60 metres to attain underneath the sticks. 7-0. Then there appeared to be a minute taken for a scrum to be shaped and gained by the Irish. Very like the 15s recreation, scrums do appear to take numerous time in 7s. The Irish managed possession for the following 4 minutes, and after being denied within the nook, they scored subsequent to the posts and with a profitable conversion made it 7-all. The Aussies took the restart, and managed possession for Teagan Levi to attain a strive 45 seconds into additional time. The conversion was unsuccessful, and Australia led it 12-7 on the break.
The second half was additionally an arm wrestle, with a attempt to every, Madison Levi scored for Australia after making a strive saving sort out on the different finish to take Australia out to 19-7. After an harm to Stacey Flood, the Irish managed territory and possession, after which after shedding some valuable time by selecting scrums reasonably than fast faucets, they lastly scored underneath the posts with 30 seconds to play and it was 19-14. That’s the place is completed, with Australia securing the kick off and placing the ball into contact. A great contest and entertaining to observe, Australia’s means to create area and beat defenders was first-class, and their defence was strong, even with a yellow card.
There definitely is a lot to look ahead to within the Quarters and additional into it.
All Blacks going again to the longer term
It’s a few weeks till the rugby championships kicks off, however there was motion within the All Backs camp with coach Scott Robertson recalling former captain Sam Cane to the squad, together with Will Jordan, and David Havili. Scott Barrett appears to be like more likely to miss the opening video games of the TRC after having surgical procedure for a finger harm sustained of their win towards Fiji. You may learn extra concerning the modifications to the squad right here.
A French revolution
Courtesy of rugby.com.au, there may be an attention-grabbing article right here that includes feedback by Alan Gilpin that world rugby must rethink it’s calendar to permit extra gamers to play 7s and 15s following the success that Dupont has had this yr, with a world sequence victory, and now Olympic gold medal to his identify.
That’s a wrap for this week
I’m certain that there’s a lot extra to cowl however I’ll depart it for Yowie, Karl, Happyman, and naturally Hoss later within the week.
That’s it for me this week, over to you G&GRs.